Nathaniel dealt Arc KO

Nathaniel has been ruled out of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp on Sunday after suffering a setback.

John Gosden's charge, winner of the Coral Eclipse this season, returned an unsatisfactory result from a blood test after he was found to have a temperature. And with the race just five days away, connections have been left with no option but to declare the four-year-old a non-runner.

James Wigan, racing manager to part-owner Lady Rothschild, said: "He had a temperature, they took some blood tests and his blood wasn't right. Considering how close we are to the race, we cannot consider running him."

Julian Dollar represents fellow part-owner Newsells Park Stud and he tweeted: "Nathaniel a non-runner in Arc due to a high temp and poor bloods. I'm using every profanity I know right now, plus a few I've just invented!"

The defection of Nathaniel comes on the back of the news that Danedream will not to be able to defend her crown after Cologne racecourse, where Peter Schiergen's mare is stabled, was placed into quarantine after a horse was found to be suffering from a serious equine infection of the blood.